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Topic Review (Newest First)

11-21-2012 05:06 PM

JonEisberg

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninefingers

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonEisberg
Looks like the practice of "navigating" aboard that boat was strictly a matter of pushing buttons and scrolling a cursor at the helm...

I don't think Perry Mason wouldn't take that leap.

You could be right about that - but, was Perry a sailor? (grin)

I see a nav station completely absent of any instrumentation, navigational, or communications gear whatsoever... I suppose that little thing mounted above the electrical panel might possibly be a GPS looking unlike any fixed mount unit I've ever seen before, but it sure looks more like a stereo or CD player, to my eye...

Of course, perhaps they might have done their chart work/navigating using a handheld GPS, IPad, or similar here:

Or, maybe here:

However, I think I'll remain comfortable out on my limb of speculation, and guess that it was all done right HERE:

11-21-2012 04:33 PM

tdw

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

I'm with the "keep the nav station" crowd provided you have enough boat. OK so most navigation is done electronically but NS is a nice place to sit and ponder or even pontificate. A good ns also allows you to wedge yourself into place. For mine, when I come off watch, particularly at night or in poor visibility its good to be able to sit down at the ns and simply look at plotter and/or chart. If you have made a mistake its a good time to realise it and correct.

11-21-2012 04:17 PM

Ninefingers

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonEisberg

Here's a picture that speaks more than a thousand words, IMHO...

This was the "Nav Station" aboard the yacht AEGEAN, which was driven straight into one of the Coronado Islands in last fall's Newport-Ensenada race, resulting in the deaths of all 4 aboard...

Looks like the practice of "navigating" aboard that boat was strictly a matter of pushing buttons and scrolling a cursor at the helm...

I don't think Perry Mason wouldn't take that leap.

11-21-2012 03:53 PM

Minnewaska

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by chef2sail

Minnie has an icemaker...a lot of boat and a generator,,,nice creature comforts you usually dont find on less the 40 ft.. We will be having margeritas on his boat.

All a matter of priority. Everyone has a locker they could give up and most of our ice is made while plugged in. A full tub will last for a couple of days off power, although, it will begin to melt. When cruising, we run the genset for an hour in the morning and evening and keep it frozen and loaded up.

Yes, we will have endless ritas on the rocks one of these days. (I'm getting partial to Mt. Gay and tonic lately too. Still need ice!!)

11-21-2012 03:17 PM

rockDAWG

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

While I absolutely love today's modern electronics, they make our life so wonderfully pleasant until I bumped into the so called Process Trap in the movie Surviving Progress.

A different way to look at thing. I guess balance is a good thing, like Yin and Yang.

11-21-2012 02:44 PM

Omatako

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

I can think of no other way to share with friends and family, the trip we've just done from say, the US to Tahiti, than pulling out a chart with all the notes, course, weather, etc. and laying it on the table. That alone is worth a chart table/nav station. Every trip we do over 200 miles has a chart marked and I still have all of them. It's hard to do this on a chart plotter especially when all the folks have to crowd around the back of the wheel to see it.

Then it's about the ritual of calculating the "day's work" and the excitement of seeing the destination approaching on the chart, taking weather reports (and making notes), running GRIB files on the computer, talking on the SSB to the available sailing net, filling out all the paperwork we'll need at the next port, checking electricity used through the night, filling in the ship's log for the previous watch, updating a blog, the list goes on.

Yes, you can do some of this from a sofa but really? If anybody on my boat seriously suggested getting rid of all that, they'll not be invited back.

And besides, if I'm going to enjoy a few drinks with friends and family, there's no place better than on deck. Sunsets viewed from the bar down below are nowhere near as good.

My nav station is definitely not obsolete.

11-21-2012 02:29 PM

chef2sail

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

I am with George B

Ice cubes...hmmm we have a stabdard 8 cubic ft refrigerated compartment divided off for frozen and refrigerated with an Alder Barbor Super cold machine. While not set up for cruising at months on a time, it is sufficiernt for our cruising for a few wekks. The Evaporator is the large one and contains 4- verticle ice cube trays. We only have a 35 ft boat with no generator and 660 ah batteries.

Minnie has an icemaker...a lot of boat and a generator,,,nice creature comforts you usually dont find on less the 40 ft.. We will be having margeritas on his boat.

Dave

11-21-2012 01:47 PM

GeorgeB

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

Our Nav Station is primarily used for navigation and it is my “office” as skipper/navigator. All of our monitoring systems, radios, main electrical panel etc. are located there. Our computer “plugs” into NEMA and the SSB at this location. Using our galley table isn’t always practical for this purpose as it often is lowered into the “sleeping” position for extra crew, has no fiddles so it needs to be cleared while underway and there is no 12v or 120v power source located nearby. In harbor, our Nav does pull double duty as a TV stand, bar, or sideboard for entertaining (our miniature Christmas tree goes here). I find it easier to do my “playing" with GRIB files and navigating on Coastal Explorer on the computer then upload courses via NMEA rather than hand punching it into the chartplotter (very laborious and interferes with the helmsman who is trying to drive. There are also times when I find it better to have a crewmember down below monitoring and tracking AIS or radar targets and relaying the info up to the crew on deck. This frees them up to drive the boat and maintain the visual lookout. I’m also using the chartplotter as a repeater so the helmsman is also able to see what the person down below is looking at. I do this mostly when working my way through crowded shipping lanes in bad visability. The times when visibility is good, reasonable amount of traffic or when I’m shorthanded (when only one person is on watch) I find the pedestal mounted screen very handy and convenient.

11-21-2012 01:11 PM

Barquito

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

My boat is barely set up for even day-sailing. However, I find that upgrades that I have made, or plan to make are governed mostly by my pocket book. AND, as it turns out, old fashioned seaman-like ways of doing things is not only cheaper, but often more robust. Take for example, a chart plotter that makes a "zzzt" sound and goes dead just after you entered a fog bank. If I had room, I would choose the paper chart spread out on the chart table (with a warm cuppa).

11-21-2012 01:08 PM

JonEisberg

Re: The Nav Station Is Obsolete, Let's Build a Bar!

Here's a picture that speaks more than a thousand words, IMHO...

This was the "Nav Station" aboard the yacht AEGEAN, which was driven straight into one of the Coronado Islands in last fall's Newport-Ensenada race, resulting in the deaths of all 4 aboard...

Looks like the practice of "navigating" aboard that boat was strictly a matter of pushing buttons and scrolling a cursor at the helm...

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